Should I trade my Jimmy for a K20?

Okay, my Jimmy's motor is pretty much shot. It's an 87 Jimmy Sierra Classic 1/2 ton with a 4" lift and 35" tires. The paint looks good, but it has rust all along the bottom.

A guy near here wants to trade me his 1984 K20 3/4 ton for it. The K20 has a 6" lift with 33's? for some reason. He said he did all the rust removal and it's now painted primer black. Also says it has a newer bed and doors.

I like the topless factor with my Jimmy, plus the originality (you don't see a nice lifted clean Jimmy/K5 around here every day), but all in all, I think the K20 would be better for playing in and for hauling stuff...

But the question is...Would you do it? Why or why not? Just want to get some opinions from someone else's point of view. Thanks guys.

still yeah. its probably got a 350 or better, and better gears for bigger tires, can always be painted if you really want to, just shoot it with 25 cans of flat black. then get new wheels and tires. definately.

Well do you want a nice truck or a beater?
You're Jimmy is nice. Looks like you just need to throw in a new motor and that would be a nice truck.
The K20 looks kinda rough and would probably make a better wheeling rig. Wouldn't worry about bangin it up a bit. Might feel bad about dinging up that Jimmy as it looks like its in good shape.

Yes, I realize my Jimmy is in pretty good shape, but it only has 10 bolts on it, and I know if I put a motor in it, that will lead to bigger axles, bigger tires, bigger lift. Which I don't have time or money for.

I don't know, it's a tough decision. I don't want people to think I traded my nice truck for a piece of crap. I'm gonna go look at it sometime this weekend and drive it and stuff to see how it looks/runs/drives.

I could probably easily afford a 14BFF and D44 for my Jimmy, but I don't know if I'm mechanically inclined enough to swap them. It doesn't seem that hard, but then again, I didn't think lifting it would be hard either. That ended up taking 3 days because it took hours to grind each bolt off because they were rusted on.

swapping axles is not that hard of a chore. and if you've recently replaced the bolts then it will be even easier cause you shouldnt have to go through the task of grinding them off again. if you can do a lift then you can swap axles.

as far as trading trucks, I say do it. if you plan on wheeling then its usually better to start off with a rig that doesnt look that good. plus its already got the lift and axles and a motor.

That Jimmy is sweet and I would not want to get rid of it. I think later on down the road you would regret getting rid of your current rig. How often do find a nice looking Blazer/Jimmy driving around.

trade it in! thats a nice k 20! the k5 is nice too, but the way u explain it sounds like k5 needs new engine, and some work. the k20 all it needs is a body work and some small work. so i would pick a k20 any day! do it! trade to then u will be a happy boy.. but yes.. k5 will be missed....

well i dont know how theyre populated around you but theres four k5s in my neighborhood and four at school. i see them regularly, and rarely see anything other than a k10, thats pretty rare too. i had to sell my beloved 77 c10 because it couldnt get me to school. i sold it for $3000 and bought a k5 for $4000 which ran and had lift and tires, but well what im saying is get one that will get you to school and is more dependable than your 305 thats broke.

As long as the drivetrain in the K20 is good, I'd do the swap. Invest in some more primer black and finish spraying the rest of the body. Hopefully you can run on those 33"s until you save up enough money for some 35"s.

He wants another project and he wants a nice driver. I will be using this for all sorts of stuff. Probably no extreme wheeling, mostly just camping trips, fishing trips, hauling stuff, and just summer fun. My Jimmy is nice, but the more I think about it, I want to do so much with it, like full rust repair, axle swap, bigger lift, etc. Rust repair alone overwhelms me, because in order to fix all the rust, I have to pretty much ruin the pretty paint job on it. And unless I have money coming out of my ears, I can't ever get it looking that good again.

I am a college kid with a part time job barely making $200 a week. I don't have time or money for a full blown project, but I know I will regret getting rid of the nice looking Jimmy, and I especially know I will miss going topless and miss all the extra cargo space that is covered from the elements, as well as the rear seat.

This truck has a disc brake conversion in the rear that needs to be finished, as well as some other small things that need to be finished. Also, couldn't I go bigger than 35's on that? He claims it's a 6" lift, but my 35's have the same clearance on my 4" lift that his 33's have on his "6" lift".

I've always dreamed of having money and time to fix my Jimmy up really nice, but the more it sits, the more it rusts, and the more my neighbors get pissed. My choices are to either swap a motor in it and drive it like that until I have money to do axle swaps and whatever else, or to trade it for something else.

I appreciate all your input guys, this is a tough decision for me. I'm going to look at the truck Sunday, so I will let you know what I think. Thanks again.

And if it is? Don't trade? I'm pretty sure my frame is cracking on the Jimmy, if it's not badly cracked already. I plan on putting a weld on brace and a bolt on brace on top of that. Thanks for reminding me to check that though.

And if it is? Don't trade? I'm pretty sure my frame is cracking on the Jimmy, if it's not badly cracked already. I plan on putting a weld on brace and a bolt on brace on top of that. Thanks for reminding me to check that though.

Click to expand...

u can still trade and do the weld on brace. just thought id bring it up cause alot of people forget to check that spot.. my old truck was badly cracked.. ended up doin alot of welding. result was good.. my 80 gmc has no crack.. soon will make it stouter. just check around. make sure the frame is good. take it for a ride if its road legal.. just make sure it doesnt clunk or anything like gearing is bad. some time if it clunks check the u joint.. they are easy n inepensive to fix. if ur 4 wd works. make sure the k 20 4 wd works too.. im sure there are a few other things i forget. so just have a look around. make sure the frame isnt rottened out. stuff like that. i cant really think of anything else.. good luck!

Useful Searches

>
About Us>
>
In May of 1999 CK5 started out as a tribute to America's favorite 4x4 utility truck. Since then it has grown to be
a leader among full size Chevrolet K5 Blazer and GMC Jimmy web sites across the Internet. CK5 has since expanded
to include the C/K series GM Truck and Suburban as well as past and present GM models.
>>
With its technical articles, factory specifications, photo gallery, classifieds, active message forum, product
reviews and original automotive content it's an unbeatable source.